The superhero Spiderman has made the leap from printed page to movie screens across the country, but one giant of the comic-book industry says he is still battling for mainstream legitimacy.
Will Eisner, the creator of the 1940s comic book hero “The Spirit,” is not after box-office proceeds or merchandising spin-offs. Instead he wants recognition for comic books as a literary art form.

In his latest adventure, Superman travels back in time to face the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand. But nowhere in this special comic-book story is the word Jew mentioned. In fact, editors at DC Comics, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Co., deleted “Jewish” from the story entirely, says Superman writer-artist Jon Bogdanove.
“They didn’t want me to use the word Jewish,” Bogdanove says. “They wanted to avoid using buzz words.”